"Surely the righteous will never be shaken; 
 they will be remembered forever. 
They will have no fear of bad news; 
 their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord." (Psalm 112:6-7)

You may or may not have noticed I've been away from here for awhile. My sweet sister reminds me from time to time. For some reason she enjoys this blog more than me these days. I'm writing this post because maybe you've been where I am and maybe you'll find comfort knowing you are not alone.

As I write this today I have to start out by telling you something embarrassing, but true. My Bible is sitting on the floor of my car, face-down behind the passenger seat. I don't even want to tell you how long it's been there.

Something hit me the other day when my fairly new friend was helping me work on our website and my iphoto issues. She asked me a question that stopped us both in our tracks and I can't get it out of my mind. It was just a simple question about my very unorganized pictures: "What are you going to do with your pictures?" Without hesitation I answered her by telling her they are just sitting there ready for "the board." To our family, "the board" is a poster board for a funeral. She looked at me with amazement. I think I freaked her out. I sort of laughed after it slipped out. I was telling her the honest to God's truth. Sad, isn't it?

It occurred to me that sometimes fear and grief (I don't even like to use that word since it feels like it's so over-used; kind of like, "abused.") can make us do some crazy things. It can make us snap at those closest to us. It can make us try to feel better by stuffing anything and everything in our mouths to ease that feeling in the pit of our stomachs. It can make us fake smile and skip workouts.  It can make us hyper, running around a hundred miles an hour; living each day as if it's our last. It can make us impatient when people want to have shallow conversations. It can make us protect our hearts by rejecting deep friendships with people who care. It causes us to want to isolate. It can make us reject God and miss church week after week. It can make us feel like someone is standing on our chests. It can make us wonder who will be next? It can make us ungrateful and selfish. It can make us focus on the negative instead of those precious gifts God gives us every day. It causes us to make bad decisions, like leaving our Bible in the backseat of our car.

This morning I'm reminded of three things: God knows, God cares and He wants us to keep trusting Him.

He also cares about my dear friend whose son recently took his life. I honestly don't know how she puts one foot in front of the other. It's time for me to go outside to get my Bible so I can find a Word to encourage her and God knows I need one for myself. Please pray for J. and G. and his sister, N. Thank you!

I better run and get ready for church. I hear it's going to be stormy today. It's the perfect day to organize photos and perhaps make a coffee table book!

 

Can you relate on any level?